Friends on the Other Side
by bethkunoichi
Summary: When Naruto leaves to train with Jiraiya, he's got no idea he'll be taken to another world. Jiraiya and Urahara have been friends for a long time, so when Naruto's master calls in a favor it's up to Kisuke, Ichigo, and the gang to help knock some skills into everyone's favorite knuckle-headed ninja. Post-Winter War, angsty, no-powers Ichigo. ICHIRUKI (referenced), slight IshiHime.
1. Prologue and Chapter 1

Hi! Some quick notes on this fic...

Naruto timeline: As seen in the description, this story takes place during Naruto's 2 1/2 years of training with Jiraiya between Naruto and Naruto Shippuden. So, understandably, he will be a bit annoying and not as strong. As for character development, see below.

Bleach timeline: I thought for a long time about this. It starts about 3 months after Ichigo loses his powers at the end of the Winter War. He's a lot older than Naruto (12 vs 16), so will be a reluctant big brother-type figure. I wanted Ichigo to be someone who could teach Naruto some humility while not trying to interject him in the middle of the War or some other arc.

I don't have this fic totally planned out, but then again I tend to do my best work on the fly. I don't know how long it will be, or where it will go, but I think Naruto will still be around for Xcution, but not for the Quincy War. Who knows though?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach. Although, I may actually have some bleach...but I'm not really a fan of fish cakes...

PS: Kudos to my sis for the title and proof reading.

Anyway, enjoy!

 **Prologue**

Setting his mop aside, Naruto gave one final cursory glance over his tiny apartment, the floor finally visible, free of dirt and pieces of ramen noodles for the first time in years. He'd lived here for as long as he could remember, but today he was leaving.

"Wheew! Well, guess that about does it," He sighed, grinning. He was finally going, off to do super-awesome-intense training with Pervy Sage.

Still smiling, he walked over to the table beside his bed, bare but for his alarm clock and- _the picture_. Sakura, Kakashi-sensei. Sasuke. _I'll be back soon,_ he thought, _stronger than ever. I'm coming for you Sasuke!_ Smiling wider, he grabbed his little gray backpack and dashed out the door, looking back just long enough to close it behind himself.

"Well, well. You've got quite the journey ahead of you," remarked Iruka-sensei, slurping up a mouthful of ramen.

"Yup!"

"Hey, listen up," Iruka-sensei said, turning with concern towards his pupil. "You keep focused out there, no goofing off, alright?"

"Focused is my middle name, sensei!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning. Iruka-sensei gave him a skeptical look before giving a little chuckle. Both smiling now, they turned back to their bowls to slurp up some more ramen just as Jiraiya stuck his head through the curtained awning of the ramen booth.

"Alright, time to hit the road Naruto," He said, looking down at his young student.

"Okay!" Naruto quickly inhaled the rest of his bowl of ramen before turning to leave, calling over his shoulder.

"Thanks for the ramen, Iruka-sensei. In fact, when I'm Hokage, I'll buy _you_ lunch," He said in total seriousness.

"When you're-!" Iruka exclaimed. _That crazy kid!_ "Ughh" he muttered, shaking his head yet still smiling to himself. Some things never changed. He watched student and teacher walk down the road towards the edge of the village, wondering who his former pupil would be upon his return. _Good luck Naruto,_ he thought to himself. _Get strong._

Stopping in the middle of the road, Naruto turned back, looking up to face the image of the Fourth Hokage carved into the cliff face to tower over the village. He reached out towards it, grasping at the future he would soon make his own.

"Just you watch," he muttered, grinning up with determination towards the face of Minato Namikaze.

"Sometime this year would be nice, let's go!" Pervy Sage shouted from up the road. Naruto jumped in alarm, dashing to catch up with his annoying sensei.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" he shouted. "Wait up!" They continued on down the road, heading towards the gates of the Hidden Leaf, towards an unknown future full of pain and possibility. At least, unknown to Naruto. Unbeknownst to him, Percy Sage had a _lot_ planned out for the next 2 years.

 **Chapter One: The Land of Mountains...or Not**

"Soooo Pervy Sage..." Naruto drawled, looking up at his teacher. "Where exactly are we going?" They had been walking through the forest for hours with no sign of stopping in a more or less straight line North-East of the Hidden Leaf Village. Naruto's already dismally low levels of patience were nearing on empty.

Jiraiya glared at him, giving him a fist to the top of his head. "You knuckle head! You'll find out soon enough!"

"Arggh! Fine, old man! If that's how you're gonna be..." Naruto shouted back. He crossed his arms and frowned down at the ground, but kept moving. They walked for a few more minutes in silence before Jiraiya gave a heavy sigh, giving in at last.

"We're going to the Land of Mountains, which, since I imagine you have no idea where that is, is two Lands North of the Eastern edge of the Land of Fire," he said with a snort. "There's a old friend of mine who owes me a favor, and I think he'd be a great help with your training."

"Oh, so you can't handle my training on your own?" Naruto taunted. "I guess my awesomeness is just too much for you."

Jiraiya looked down at him, dead serious. "Honestly Naruto, if the Nine-Tails gets loose, which it very well could with the training I have planned, I'd like to have all the help around I can get," he said, unsmiling. Suddenly he cracked a grin."Besides this friend of mine is an _excellent_ trainer, who excels in getting through to reckless knuckle-heads like yourself. You'll have to ask his own student, Ichigo, for the details," he cackled.

Naruto's eyes grew larger in alarm. _What sort of tyrant is Pervy Sage bringing me to?_ he wondered. _And who lives in the mountains? He must have some kinda fancy dojo. And what sorta name is Ichigo?!_

"So does this friend of yours _live_ in the mountains?" he asked.

"Not exactly." Jiraiya grinned. "You'll see when we get there. It'll be about a week before we get to the Land of Mountains and another three or four days before we actually get to his home."

"What?!" Naruto shouted. "But I want to start right away! Let's run, then we'll get there way sooner!" Without waiting for an answer he took off at top speed, racing into the forest a just few degrees farther North than he should have. Jiraiya sighed in resignation before chasing after his knuckle-headed student, running deep into the forest after him.

Four days later they arrived at the border between the Land of Mountains and the Land of Fields, where the swaying grasslands they had been running through all day gave way to barren desolate peaks soaring into the sky, completely devoid of plant life. Naruto squinted at the huge pillars of rock facing him and grinned in excitement.

"Yes! We're almost there!" he shouted. "If we keep running we'll be there in no time!" He was about to charge into the mountains before he felt Pervy Sage's hand on his collar holding him back.

"Not so fast Naruto, we've gotta take it slower around here. It's not too far to the entrance." Naruto scowled.

"But you said it would be at least three days!" he said. "We've gotta go faster!" Jiraiya chuckled.

"Well it's only about 15 minutes actually." He chuckled again. "Let's just say he's got a _really_ long front door."

He lead the way into the rocky landscape, walking along a twisting goat-path nearly invisible to the untrained eye. It wound back and forth for about 10 minutes before Jiraiya veered off the path, leaping over a few boulders and ducking under some stone ledges before stopping in front of a large boulder resting against a towering cliff face. He grinned down at Naruto, who looked up at him skeptically.

"Here we are!" he said, marching up to the giant rock. He reached up to a depression in the stone and began knocking. Twice. Pause. Five times. Pause. Three times. Pause. Nine times. Pause. Once more. With that final knock a glowing seam appeared in the surface if the boulder, running from bottom to top in a perfectly straight line. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, and he tried to run and get a closer look but was stopped by Pervy Sage, who had stuck out a hand in warning. Suddenly, with a rumble, the boulder split in two, sliding apart to reveal a seemingly endless cavern stretching deep into the cliff face.

"Woooow!" Naruto exclaimed. "That's awesome! This is where you're friend lives? He must be waaaay cooler than you Pervy Sage."

"Shut up you idiot!" Jiraiya glared at Naruto." Of course this isn't where he lives. This is just the front door. "

He turned away from his student and entered the tunnel, passing through a clear film covering the doorway. Naruto hadn't noticed it before, it was totally transparent until someone walked through it, which made is shine like a soap bubble. He poked it warily, watching the colors ripple out from where his finger had touched it before shrugging and running through to catch up with Pervy Sage. Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared for what came after. It felt like a hoard of microscopic spiders had swarmed all across his body, running into his ears and dancing up his nose. It only lasted for a second, but it was enough to make Naruto scream in shock, slapping at his clothes and glaring at Pervy Sage.

"Hey you could have warned me!" he yelled as he finally caught up with his cruel master.

Jiraiya laughed, sides shaking. "Not a chance! Nobody warned me when I came through there the first time. Think of it as part of your training."

Naruto scowled down at the ground, but kept walking. Jiraiya gave him a little shove, chuckling.

"Oh lighten up," he said smiling. "The real training starts soon enough."

Three days later, the tunnel came to an abrupt end. Naruto would have walked right into it if not for Pervy Sage's lantern. As it was, he was surprised until he remember how they had gotten into the tunnel in the first place.

"Let me guess," he said. "More knocking?" Jiraiya chuckled. "You betcha."

He walked up to the rock wall blocking their path, running his hand along the surface in the dark until he found the dent he was looking for.

"Ah, here we go." Five time. Pause. Six. Pause. Three times. Pause. Eight more times. With that, a familiar seam appeared in the rock face, which opened into a large open area greatly resembling the landscape at the other end of the tunnel. The only difference was that there was less mountains and more plain old rocks.

"Sooo is this where your friend lives?" Naruto asked squinting at his master.

"Almost," he answered. "Just a few more hours"

"Aah are you kidding me?"

"No you idiot. But good news, you can run now."

"Ugh. Fine."

They ran for what seemed like nothing after walking through that cave for three days before coming around a tall cliff to see a strange looking man leaning back against a ridiculously long ladder. Which seemed to go up to a door in the sky. _Wait, a door?_ Naruto squinted at what he'd thought was the sky. _Those clouds are_ not _moving..._ _It's just painted!_ He realized. _We're still underground!_ The weird man wore short green pants and a loosely tied shirt of the same color with a haori coat in a darker green over that. His shaggy blond hair poked out from beneath a white and green stripped bucket hat, though his face was hidden by the fan he was waving casually, revealing only his eyes. He held a cane in one hand, and on his feet was a pair of plain brown clogs. _Wait, clogs?! And those clothes...he's just like Pervy Sage!_ Naruto scowled, hiding his curiosity at this strange man, who had to be Pervy Sage's friend to be dressed like that, and to have such a weird underground cave-thing.

The man pulled his hat down farther over his eyes before standing straight and walking over towards Jiraiya and Naruto, swinging his cane as he walked and smiling slightly. His eyes were hidden in deep shadow.

"Welcome," He called out. He kept walking until he was about three meters away before stopping, head tilted towards the ground. He looked up suddenly, eyes flashing.

"Long time no see, Jiraiya." He grinned. "And you must be Naruto Uzumaki. My name is Kisuke Urahara, but you can call me-"

"Hat-and-Clogs," Naruto interrupted, pointing at the man in front of him. Jiraiya glared at him and was reaching to give him a smack when Kisuke began chuckling. He snapped his fan closed and tucked it into his robes.

"Well I can see _you're_ gonna get along just fine with everyone." He smiled again, bringing his cane up to point at the sky-ceiling-. "Why don't you come on up and meet them?"

Naruto squinted. "Meet who?"

"Your new trainers."

Well there you go! 1,993 words for both the Prologue and Chapter One. The Prologue was almost entirely taken from episode 220 of Naruto, although I removed some scenes that concerned the development of characters not appearing in this story. As of yet, Naruto, Jiraiya, and maybe Kakashi, will be the only characters from Naruto appearing, with the exception of characters in flashbacks.

Some notes: Yes the Land of Mountains exists according to cannon. You can find it on the map just by searching for "naruto map".

Also, no I will not be pairing Naruto with anyone! If I did it would be with Sakura, and she won't be making an appearance. However, that does not mean there won't be nosebleeds. *cough*Orihime*cough*

Obviously Naruto will learn he is in a different world, that will be next chapter, along with introductions! Yay!


	2. Chapter 2

Wow! 7 followers already! Awesome! Special mention to **thek96, ARSLOTHES, and sa1ton-death.** You guys started following within 3 hours of me posting this story, which is awesome! I felt so encouraged!

Disclaimer: I own neither Bleach nor Naruto. I wish I did, I would have much more money and likely more fun.

Thanks again to my sis for proof reading.

Enjoy!

 **Strange Places and Stranger Faces**

 _Three days previously..._

Ichigo wiped at the sweat dripping down his brow, only to scowl at the sticky residue left on his hand. He never used to sweat so easily. Only in the last three months had he started to wear down so quickly. Ever since his final battle with Aizen. Ever since he'd lost the only thing that made him strong.

He'd been sparring with Tatsuki for the last four hours straight, leaving both of them panting profusely. Tatsuki was bent over, hands on her knees and legs shaking. Since losing both his Inner Hollow and Shinigami abilities to Mugetsu at the end of the Winter War, he'd decided to hone his remaining skills the only way he had left: Karate. He'd gone back to his old dojo and, with the help of Tatsuki, had been working to get as strong as was possible for his human self. He could at least try to protect his sisters and friends from mortal threats, even if he could no longer protect them from supernatural ones. Well, what friends he had left, that is.

He was startled out of his internal reflections by a surprise left hook from Tatsuki, which he quickly dodged before throwing a kick of his own. Tatsuki jumped back grinning, barely able to avoid Ichigo's ridiculously fast reflexes.

"You're getting a _lot_ faster Ichigo. I can hardly believe you've gotten even better than me so quickly."

Ichigo gave her a solemn look.

"I've had to," He sighed. "It's the only way I have left to protect." He looked hard at Tatsuki, raising one eyebrow.

"Besides, I was given a lot of training by Hat-n-Clogs and Yoruichi. That wasn't all for my Zanpakuto. There's no _way_ Yoruichi would let me get off that easy."

"I guess you're right," Tatsuki sighed. "But that doesn't really help my pride."

"Well, you're still the second strongest girl in Japan, " He said, grinning. "You'll be first soon, I'd bet."

Tatsuki grinned at the thought. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

The sudden sound of the door behind them creaking open made them both start. They were supposed to be alone in the dojo, and no one else was scheduled to come in. The light shinning from the bright spring day outside obscured their vision for a second before revealing a familiar stripped hat, accompanied by the sharp clack of wooden clogs on the floor of the dojo.

"Hey, Ichigo." Urahara called, snapping his fan closed. "Long time no see."

Ichigo scowled at his old teacher, who had the audacity to stroll back in to his life as if nothing had ever happened. Well, that was Hat-n-Clogs for you.

"Yeah yeah, it's been a while. But why contact me now? You've barely spoken a word to me ever since..." He looked away. _Ever since Aizen._

Urahara looked sharply at the Ex-Substitute Soul Reaper.

"I know." He sighed, pulling on the front of his hat. "As much as I hate to get you involved, Ichigo, I need your help." Ichigo raised an eyebrow skeptically.

"What help could I possibly be?" He spat. "I don't _have_ any powers now, remember?" he turned back towards Tatsuki, walking away farther into the dojo to get away from the old shop keeper.

"You see Ichigo, it's this old friend of mine." Ichigo paused.

"Shinigami?"

"Not exactly." Ichigo could hear the clack of Urahara's clogs as he took a few steps forwards.

"He's bringing his young student with him to the shop for some training. His pupil has a bit of a...situation. A 'friend' in here." Ichigo turned sharply to see Urahara tapping the side of his head, staring hard at Ichigo. His eyes widened.

"Like...an Inner Hollow?"

"Again, not _exactly_. But it's a similar situation." Hi lifted his cane to point at Ichigo. "I thought you'd might be able to help him with that, as well as a bit of physical training, of course." Ichigo scowled again.

"Couldn't you just ask Shinji and the others?"

"They're not really available," Urahara said, lowering his cane. "Besides, you two are a bit closer in age."

Ichigo sighed. He could see Hat-n-Clogs wouldn't let up on this. The Ex-Substitute knew better than to try and argue with Kisuke Urahara when he wanted something.

"Fine. I'll do it."

Urahara grinned, opening his fan back up to wave it casually in front of his face. "Perfect! Be at the shop by five o'clock three days from now." Ichigo face palmed.

"Yeah yeah, I'll be there," He said, still shaking his head. "Get outa here already."

Urahara pulled his hat back down over his eyes. "Bye Ichigo!" He called, turning to leave. With his back turned, Ichigo couldn't see the dark frown that washed over his old teacher's face. _Well, he's doing better than I thought, but not as well as I'd hoped._ He sighed to himself as he walked out of the dojo, door slamming behind him as his turned his face to the sky.

"Still obsessed with protecting people." he muttered, shading his eyes from the bright sunlight. "Well some things just never change, eh Rukia?"

The Shinigami hidden in the shadow of the side of the dojo stepped forwards, frowning at the man in front of her.

"He shouldn't be involved anymore!" she snapped. "He can't protect himself properly anymore if he doesn't have any powers." Her fists were shaking, tears building in the corners of her eyes despite her best efforts. "How could you? You know we're working on it, but there's not a lot of hope. So until we know for sure if it will work he should be allowed to just live his life!"

Urahara raised one eyebrow at the petite Soul Reaper in front in him.

"Really Rukia?" he asked. "Then what exactly are you doing here?"

 _Present time..._

Naruto stared with undisguised curiosity at the group of people sitting around the table in front of him. After climbing up that ridiculously tall ladder in that weird cavern place, Hat-n-Clogs had led them down empty hallways and through bare rooms until finally stopping here, in a room filled with what he supposed must be his new trainers. He and his master sat down on the floor at a little round table while Hat-n-Clogs went to stand next to a tall woman with dark skin and long purple hair tied pack in a pony tail who was leaning against the wall on the opposite side of the room.

"Well, why don't I start introductions?" Hat-n-Clogs said cheerfully, waving his fan, which he had snuck out of his robes without Naruto noticing. He gestured at the woman next to him.

"This is Yoruichi Shihoin. She'll be helping you with speed and agility training." He grinned. "I'm -sure her...cat-like tendencies will be perfect for the job." The woman in question shook her head before look right at Naruto. He gulped. _She's s scary as Lady Tsunade!_ His eyes traveled a bit lower. _And her boobs are huge too!_

Next, Hat-n-clogs pointed with his fan at two little kids sitting next to each other at the table. A girl with black hair tied in Pigtails and big sad eyes, and an angry looking boy with bright red hair who was scowling at Naruto. He scowled back, narrowing his eyes.

"These two are Ururu and Jinta." Urahara grinned. "They'll be seeing how well you can handle an outnumbered fight." Naruto and Jinta stared daggers at each other. Urahara coughed, interrupting what would soon have been a shouting match.

"Moving on..." He gestured at a tall man with very straight black hair and glasses. He was wearing a strange outfit, all white and blue, it even came with a little cape. _Weirdo..._ Naruto thought to himself, narrowing his eyes.

"This is Uryu Ishida. He'll be seeing how well you can function under constant fire." The bespectacled man nodded at Naruto, his eyes hidden behind the frames of his glasses. _What horrid fashion taste,_ Uryu thought, grimacing internally at the repulsive shade of orange his new pupil had decided to dress himself in. _This will have to be rectified._

"This is Chad, or Yasutora Sado, but you can just call him Chad. He'll be helping Ururu and Jinta." Naruto looked over at a ridiculously tall man, who had darker skin and dark curly hair with just one eye visible. His eyes widened in shock at his enormous size. The strange giant gave a quiet grunt, nodding at the young ninja.

"And this is Orihime Inoue," Hat-n-Clogs said, pointing towards a pretty young woman with long orangey-brown hair and little blue hair clips on each side of her face. Naruto found himself staring at her chest - _she's as big a Tsunade!_ -which made Orihime squirm a bit.

"She'll be around to take care of any injuries that might come up," Urahara added with a grin. "As well as helping you learn better control of your chakra-or as we call it, reiatsu."

Naruto forced himself to run away from the well-endowed woman sitting across from him to look at his master, only to find that Pervy Sage was living up to his name. He was practically drooling.

"Pervy Sage!"

Jiraiya started, shaken out of his stupor. "Hey you brat, mind your own business. The group in front of them started chuckling at the exchange, and at the surprising accuracy of the young ninja's nicknames.

Still chuckling to himself, Urahara added, "And that just leaves Ichigo...who should be here any minute..." No sooner had these words left his mouth than the door slid open, revealing a tall, scowling man with a shock of bright orange hair. He stomped into the room and sat down cross-legged at the table, not quite meeting the eyes of anyone in the room. Urahara watched him sit down before turning back to Jiraiya and Naruto.

"Aaaand this is Ichigo Kurosaki. He'll be working both with Yoruichi and by himself to get you into shape. Also, he'll be helping me with your...little friend. He's got some experience in that area."

Urahara turned back to Ichigo, noting that his old pupil's ever-present scowl was more pronounced than usual. "Well Ichigo, this is our new little student, Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto looked curiously at this 'Ichigo' who seemed to have little to no inclination to be there. He somehow reminded him of Sasuke, full of attitude but kinda sad too...he squinted at the ginger, wondering what had happened. Ichigo scowled right back, holding his gaze long enough for the tension to be nearly unbearable before looking away and sighing.

"Well, you don't really look like much, but I guess we'll be teaching you. So, nice to meet you, Naruto."

Naruto scowled and crossed his arms, before muttering one word.

"Strawberry."

Yay! 2 chapters up! Hooray for motivation! I'm having fun with this story already, more fun than I had with my other story, That Damn Hitchhiker.

Rukia made a guest appearance! I love her 3

Training starts next chapter. I know I said that Naruto would find out about the whole 'other world' thing this chapter, but I couldn't work it in without making the chapter overly long. So, next time :)

Thanks for reading! Please review, but no flames please.


	3. Chapter 3

Wow! 11 Favorites, 18 Followers, 2 communities, and 430 views! This is amazing! Thank you so much everyone, it means a lot to me. Still no reviews though, I'd love to have some input…*hint**hint*

I'm sorry it took me longer to get this chapter out, school has now started for me and between Chemistry labs, Art History assignments (already), and Musical rehearsals I've had way less time. And I've been rather sick…yuck. I'm happy I was able to get it out at last though.

 **Disclaimer** : I own neither Bleach nor Naruto. It appears all I own is tea…. seriously I have so much tea…

Thanks again sis for proofreading (or trying, anyway).

Anyway, enjoy!

 **Cats Again?!**

"What was that, Shorty?" Ichigo said, tone sickly sweet with barely contained rage. "I didn't quite catch that."

"I called you Strawberry," Naruto snorted. "That's your name, isn't it?"

A vein in Ichigo's forehead twitched, and he closed his eyes trying to calm himself. Meanwhile, the eyes of the rest of the room darted between the two boys in front of them, waiting for one to erupt. Orihime had to cover her mouth, afraid she'd start giggling, and Uryu was trying hard to fight back a smile. No one had called Ichigo 'Strawberry' since before the Winter War. That is, except for Rukia. Partly because Ichigo had gained their respect both as a person and as a warrior, but mostly because hey were scared of what he'd do to them. Only Rukia had ever been immune. Ichigo had been so somber lately that no one had even tried, but at that moment he seemed more like himself than he had been in months.

"Um, Naruto," Orihime said hesitantly, still holding back laughter with remarkable restraint. "No one really calls Ichigo that…besides, his name really means 'One Who Protects'."

Naruto frowned.

"But Ichigo means Strawberry," he said, scratching his head, ignorant if the imminent danger. Jiraiya leaned over to whisper in his student's ear: _It's_ because _they were all afraid of what he'd do to them, Idiot! He was once one of the strongest people in this room._

Naruto gaped at Jiraiya. "Stronger than you, Pervy Sage?" he nearly shouted. His Master only shrugged.

"Wait, _once_?" he asked, eyes narrowing. "So...now you're a weakling?" he asked, whipping around to face Ichigo again.

The atmosphere in the room turned sober as its occupants cringed, with the exception of Urahara, who pulled his hat down to watch his former pupil out of the corner of his eye. Ichigo's scowl crumpled and his whole body seemed to wither and sink into the wall behind him, so much so it appeared he could almost disappear. The room was totally silent for what seemed like forever before Ichigo sighed and looked back up to meet the eyes of this newbie, this bizarre student who had struck into the very pits of his very soul with unnerving accuracy. However, there was a new fire in his eyes that hadn't been there mere minutes before.

"Yeah," he snarled, standing straighter. "I lost my powers. But don't you make the mistake that I couldn't still kick your ass, ninja or not."

Naruto gaped up at Ichigo before he realized what he was doing and quickly hid his awe under a scowl. _What?! Is that punk really that strong? Damn it!_

During his little rant Ichigo had unknowingly walked right up to the table, directly across from Naruto, and was now towering over him from between Ururu and Orihime. He spared a quick glance down to see them both watching him with wide eyes, Orihime smiling proudly. He sighed and looked back at Urahara, who was hiding his own smile in the shadow of his bucket hat.

"Do you need me anymore, Kisuke?" he asked. "I should probably be getting home before the Old Goat gets worried and starts running through town looking for me."

Kisuke gestured to the sliding doors with his closed fan.

"Go ahead Ichigo," he said with a grin. "Just make sure you're back here tomorrow at eight. You're going to be giving Yoruichi a hand!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ichigo sighed, pulling open the door. "I'll be there." he called over his shoulder.

Just as he was closing it behind him, Naruto leaped to his feet, shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Hey Strawberry!" he called. " Just you wait! I'm gonna get super strong, and I'll beat you for sure!"

Ichigo snorted. _Damn cocky bra—_

"BELIEVE IT!"

Perched delicately atop a telephone pole just outside Urahara's shop, Rukia watched the events unfolding inside as best she could from her limited vantage point. She would have moved closer, if not for the risk that someone would see her and tip Ichigo off. She just couldn't chance being back in his life when she didn't even know if it would be possible for him to come back into hers. She just couldn't do that to him. _Damn Urahara, why did he have to get Ichigo involved? He has nothing to do with this! J-just let him get on with his life._ She did have to admit though, from the sound of it this 'Naruto' person had already gotten more life out of Ichigo than anyone had in the past three months. _He almost sounds…normal again._

Rukia was startled from her thoughts by the sudden sound of the front doors of the shop sliding open, her eyes widening as the very object of her contemplation strode out of the store and walked right beneath her. Her breath caught in her throat; even though she knew Ichigo couldn't see or hear her she just couldn't steady her thundering heart. _Calm down,_ she thought angrily. _Stop this ridiculous behavior._

However, she couldn't keep back a quick intake of air as the Ex-Substitute Soul Reaper turned back slightly and looked up to the top of the telephone pole, _her_ telephone pole. _Impossible…_ she thought, tears springing to her eyes for the second time that week. _Ichigo…_ But even as she stared into his amber eyes, eyes that once had looked back so strongly, they seemed to drift over the cloud-filled sky behind her. He gave a nearly imperceptible shake of his head before bringing his dark eyes down to scowl the sidewalk, shoving his hands into his jean pockets and continuing up the street away from the store.

He didn't even notice the small raven-haired Shinigami watching him go, tears she had kept just barely at bay for months finally pouring down her pale cheeks.

As soon as Ichigo had left, Urahara turned back to his guests, trying to decide how to proceed. The moment Naruto left the shop he would realize something was up. The little ninja was definitely a bit dense, but even _he_ would notice the different buildings, technologies, and clothing styles. The shopkeeper looked across the table at his old friend, a questioning look in his narrowed eyes. Jiraiya nodded slightly, giving the ok to proceed.

"Alright everyone, you are free to go!" Urahara said cheerfully. "Just make sure to keep an ear out, and I will let you know when I need you." His eyes slid across the room to Orihime.

"Except you, Orihime," he said. "You come tomorrow, same time as Ichigo, just in case someone is injured. After all, you never know what will happen!" His happy tone of voice belied that statement; he definitely had something planned.

Orihime nodded and everyone rose to take their leave, exiting quietly until only Urahara, Yoruichi, Jiraiya, and Naruto were left. Kisuke shifted his gaze back to his visitors. Jiraiya leaned back to rest against the wall, clearly giving the impression that he had no plans to assist in the coming explanation. Yoruichi rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she took a seat cross-legged next to Kisuke. He glanced briefly at her before sighing and finally turning his full gaze upon Naruto.

"All right Naruto," he started. "Some things need to be explained, and this may take a while so you had better get comfortable."

Naruto shifted in his seat slightly, scratching his nose before shoving his hand back in his lap. Urahara took this as the sign to continue.

"Alright," he said. "Are you familiar with the concept of parallel worlds?"

"Uuuuum," Naruto dragged out. "Not really…"

"Perfect!" Kisuke said, grinning. "Because it's nothing like that."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the shopkeeper.

"Think of where you came from, before you walked through all those tunnels, as being inside of a soap bubble. Can you do that?" Kisuke asked.

"Sure… all the lands? Or just the Land of Mountains?"

Kisuke sighed. "All the lands, together, are one soap bubble, yes. But…" he paused for effect.

"When you have a bath, there never is just one soap bubble, right? There are a lot of soap bubbles." Naruto nodded.

"Well," Urahara gestured to the space around them. "This is a different soap bubble."

Naruto's jaw dropped, and Jiraiya chuckled slightly. Urahara continued.

"When you crossed that transparent barrier at the entrance to the tunnel in the Land of Mountains, you crossed the barrier between one dimension and another. Not parallel, just different. We have different customs, different technologies, and different people than you are used to. That barrier is just a spot where the edge of the bubbles have gotten a little thin, I just tweaked it a bit so it can deal with the language barrier and make travel between possible if you know how. Of course, knowledge like that is hard to come by and is extremely dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands."

Naruto gapped at Kisuke, apparently still hung up on the 'other worlds' idea. Urahara pulled his hat lower over his eyes while maintaining eye contact with his new pupil.

"This is extremely important for you to understand, Naruto, because there are people who would like to take advantage of this information," he said.

"There are other worlds besides this one that have the ability to easily travel between dimensions. They are known as Soul Society and Hueco Mundo. You might know them better as the World of the Dead and as Purgatory, respectfully."

Naruto's eyes widened even further at that, although he was a bit confused by the last bit. _Purgatory? I don't remember what that is… oh well._

"The problem," Urahara continued. "Is that the residents of these worlds are under the impression that these three dimensions-that is, this world, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo-are the _only_ dimensions. Their governments would love nothing more than to enter and exploit your world at the first opportunity."

At that, Naruto gave a shout.

"No way! I'm going to be Hokage and there's no way any stupid old guys are gonna stop me!"

"So you understand then, why I would ask you to not tell anyone where you came from," Urahara said seriously. "You're fine to speak with Yoruichi, Tessai, who is my assistant; and myself when the others aren't around. But please, keep quiet with the rest. "

Naruto nodded solemnly. This was the first time he'd been totally silent since arriving at the shop, so it seemed he understood the seriousness of the matter. He glanced at Pervy Sage, who didn't seem surprised at all. _So that Old Man new all along, huh?_ He scowled at his Master for not telling him before. Jiraiya just smiled.

Urahara sighed, just a little sadly. Yet another secret, but what was there to do? The others, with the exception of Uryu, were too close to the Shinigami for him to trust them to not mention anything if they saw anyone. Uryu was liable to attack these 'foreign invaders' on 'his honor as a Quincy'. Ichigo, who was normally fairly trustworthy, just couldn't be trusted not to share with his friends. And although certain Shinigami had become both friends and comrades over the course of the War, they would likely be honor bound to report the matter to their Captains, who would have to report it to the Head Captain, who would then be required to take it to Central 46. The likelihood of discovery was just too great, the risk too high. _But,_ he thought, grinning internally, _that doesn't mean he can't meet them. I'm sure the moocher will show up at some point, and Rukia's been hanging around…they could be very…convenient._

"Well," he said. "That's all for today. I'll have Tessai take you to your rooms." He met Naruto's eyes once more.

"Training starts tomorrow."

The next morning saw Naruto waking up just as the sun was rising. He'd barely slept, despite the long trip of the day before he was tossing and turning with anticipation for hours. As soon as the bright beams of morning sun peeked through the blinds covering his window he climbed from his futon. He ran out of his room, only to screech to a halt when he realized he had no idea where they would be training. Scratching his head and yawning loudly he wandered down hallways and through empty room after empty room until seemingly by chance he came to the same room he'd been lead to the day before, where he found that other man—Tessi? No, Tessai—setting food out for breakfast. Pervy Sage was already there, munching away on a piece of toast. Yawning again, he sat down with a _thump_ at the table, jostling the cups and plates. A black cat he hadn't seen the day before was curled up under the table, but moved to the corner of the room when he sat down.

"Ah, Young Naruto, I was just going to wake you. Master Urahara should be down shortly and Lady Yoruichi has already eaten," said Tessai, eyes darting to the cat in the corner and back again to Naruto.

Naruto nodded tiredly, reaching for the plate of toast in the middle of the table just as the door behind him slid open and Hat-n-Clogs shuffled into the room also yawning loudly.

"Morning Tessai, Jiraiya, Naruto." He also glanced at the cat still sitting in the corner of the room before turning back to his guest. _What is she up too? Oh well, I guess I'll find out soon enough._

"Eat up Naruto, you'll be training all day and neither Yoruichi nor Ichigo are very prone to going easy," he said, stifling another yawn.

Naruto nodded as best he could, already shoveling eggs into his mouth. Kisuke joined him at albeit a slower pace.

A short while later their meal was interrupted by Ichigo's shouts from the front of the store. Tessai left to go let him in, the black cat hot on his heels, and both Kisuke and Naruto watching as the pair made their exit. _There's something odd about that cat,_ Naruto thought.

Tessai held open the doors for Ichigo, and Orihime as well, who had joined Ichigo at the door. Ichigo looked sharply at Yoruichi, who was sitting calmly just in front of the door blinking her large golden eyes at her old student. He raised one eyebrow.

"Ok, what is it Yoruichi?" he said, sighing slightly, just imagining the antics she had likely come up with.

"You wouldn't be in that form if you didn't have _something_ planned, so what are you up too?"

If cats could smirk, Yoruichi Shihoin would have a huge one plastered on her feline face.

"I don't know if you noticed, Ichigo," she said languidly. "But our new student is a bit too cocky for my liking. I think it would be best if we took him down a few notches." She eyed her ex-pupil and he grimaced, recognizing the gleam in her eye.

"Besides," she continued. "I happen to know a little _tidbit_ from his past that will make today very…. amusing."

Twenty minutes later found Kisuke, Jiraiya, Ichigo, Orihime, Naruto, and that mysterious black cat in the weird cavern beneath the shop once again. Kisuke was grinning from behind his fan at the assembly before him, waving it slowly just above his nose. Naruto was bouncing from one foot to the other with anticipation at his new training, eyeing Ichigo, who he remembered was supposed to train him today, along with that other lady, Yoruichi.

"Alright, I'll leave this to you Ichigo," the shopkeeper said cheerfully. "Orihime, Jiraiya, and I will just go wait over there." He gestured at a rock formation a little ways off. Ichigo nodded and looked pointedly down at the cat sitting by his feet. Naruto followed his gaze and his eyes widened as realization dawned on him.

"NOT CATS AGAIN!" He shouted, staring in outrage at the feline in front of him. Ichigo just chuckled.

"You guesses it," he said, smirking. _So Yoruichi was right. Of_ course _she was._

"Today you'll be trying to catch the cat. No kid—er, Jutsu, allowed. I'm sure you'll find this all very familiar…" Naruto glared daggers at his teacher.

"But didn't Hat-n-Clogs say I was gonna train with you _and_ Yoruichi today? No fair!" he yelled. "He didn't say _anything_ about CATS!"

Ichigo's smirk got wider. "Don't worry, you'll be training with her soon."

Naruto grumbled, but looked back down towards the damn cat.

"Fine, fine. All right, come here you little—" he stopped, suddenly finding himself staring at empty space. _What? Where'd it go?_

He heard a loud yowl above him and looked up, only to find the same cat staring at him from the top of a huge monolith about fifty yards to his left. His jaw dropped.

"THE HELL? GET BACK HERE YOU STUPID CAT!" he yelled, taking off after the disappearing blur of the Lady Yoruichi.

Ichigo chuckled to himself; Kisuke, Jiraiya, and Orihime were beside themselves laughing, wiping tears from their eyes. Orihime had actually fallen on her back she was laughing so hard. They watched, through blurred vision, the aptly titled Goddess of Flash flick around the cavern with the poor knuckle-headed ninja hot on her heals.

Naruto ran faster than he ever had, trying to catch up to the definitely-not-normal cat, who seemed to just be teasing him. Always just out of reach, slowing down just enough for him to brush its fur before darting away and appearing on the opposite side of the room. That cat was faster than anything he'd ever seen, even faster than Haku with his ice mirrors. And the worst part was, he got the feeling that it could go even faster, and was only slowing down to make the 'training' more fun.

It took twelve times in a row of teasing and running away before Naruto realized just chasing wasn't working. He watched closely; she seemed to always return to the same two cliff tops on opposite sides of the room, directly across from each other, every time he just missed her. _Wait a second,_ he thought. _Maybe…Yeah, there it goes again. Yes!_ This time, just as he brushed the cat's fur he switched directions, running full tilt towards the cliff behind him. Sure enough, that little black blur appeared right at the top and it's eyes widened, seeing Naruto's sudden change in direction. He crowed with excitement at his approaching victory, poring in all his energy and racing forward, feet drumming across the rocky ground and kicking up a dust cloud in his wake. He was already half way up the cliff, eagerly eyeing the cat that just watched him approach, when suddenly it jerked forward. Naruto's eyes widened as he felt a gust blow past him, knocking him off balance and sending him crashing to the ground. Swearing loudly, he pulled himself up and looked around only to groan, seeing that damn black cat sitting calmly just a few feet in front of him. He scowled at it, lurching forward.

"Okay you—"

"Alright, that's enough!" Ichigo interrupted from where he'd stood watching. He strode forward, still chuckling to himself. He stopped beside Naruto and looked down at the cat, which looked back at him, blinking innocently.

"Oh come on, now you're just being mean."

Naruto glared sideways at his new Master.

"Okay, what the hell is _up_ with that _cat_?!"

Ichigo smirked at Naruto before turning back to the cat.

"Do you want to tell him? Or should I?"

The cat blinked in response before turning back to Naruto and— _smiling. What the hell?_ Naruto thought.

Before he could say anything, a sudden cloud of smoke erupted before his eyes, clouding his vision. As it began to clear, he could just make out the outline of a shape. A _woman's_ shape. The cloud cleared to reveal the most stunningly beautiful woman he had ever seen, all tan curves and supple muscles, huge breasts and luscious hips. He turned deathly pale, blood dripping from his nose at an alarming rate as he gaped at the gorgeous woman before him.

"S-sexy Jutsu?" he stammered, not even bothering to stem the flow of blood.

"Yoruichi!" Ichigo shouted, turning his back on his old teacher as his face grew bright red. _Well, what did you expect?_ he thought to himself. _This_ is _Yoruichi after all._

"Relax, Ichigo," she said, grinning. "Kisuke brought my clothes. Damn, you're still such a baby! And here I thought Rukia had gotten through to you…"

"YORUICHI!" he yelled again, going even redder.

"Alright, alright, I'm going," she said, laughing even more. She strolled over to Kisuke, who had to restrain Jiraiya from acting on his more base impulses, covering his eyes and mouth. She snatched up her clothes and disappeared behind a nearby boulder to change into some semblance of modesty.

Naruto turned to Ichigo, who had turned back around once he was sure Yoruichi was out of sight.

"That cat—was Yoruichi?"

Ichigo sighed. "Yep. That's her favorite trick to play on new students. At least she got it over with, she waited a long while before pulling it on me."

"But how—"

"Who knows?" Ichigo interrupted, shaking his head dejectedly. "I try my best not to think to hard about it." Naruto narrowed his eyes in the direction of the boulder.

Yoruichi finally rejoined them, turning to Naruto and grinning.

"So, Naruto," she said, winking. "What'd you think?"

"Ummm…" He stammered, blushing slightly.

"Of the _training_ , moron," Ichigo snapped, rolling his eyes.

"Oh. Well, it kinda sucked."

Yoruichi smiled. "That was the idea." She suddenly grew serious, eyes piercing.

"You need to understand that you can't just overwhelm every opponent with your Shadow Clone Jutsu. And yes, I know what that is," she said, in answer to Naruto's questioning look.

"If your enemy is so fast that they can get past your clones, or take them all out before you can make a move, what's the point? You won't be able to solve all your problems by just using a bigger or better Jutsu."

She looked pointedly at her student, crossing her arms.

"I guess you're right…"

"Of course I'm right. And it will be Ichigo's as well as my job to train you in speed and hand-to-hand combat _without_ the use of Jutsu. We are both something like specialists in both areas." She grinned.

"I'm not called the Goddess of Flash for nothing."

Ichigo rolled his eyes.

"We're gonna try to prepare you for those kinds of tricky opponents. You have other masters that can teach you fancy Jutsu," he said, glancing at Jiraiya, who was watching their exchange closely.

"Just now you were able to use your head to trick your opponent, despite what you were lacking in speed and agility." Yoruichi continued.

"I was impressed, even if you took it a while. If I were any other cat you might have caught me," she remarked, smiling.

"You're off to a good start, but there's still a lot of work we need to do. So this time, you're going to try and get both of us."

She grinned evilly.

"And when I say get, I mean try and hit us. Both of us."

Yes! It's done! 3,889 words, it's my longest chapter ever! I wanted to fit it all in though.

I'm so sorry for IchiRuki pain! I cried so much writing that scene, I had to stop and pick it back up the next day. It was awful, but it needed to be written. I don't know if it's as sad as it was when I was writing it, but I guess sad scenes are much harder to write than to read.

Naruto got the Yoruichi Treatment, as I call it. And yes, I definitely think he would be that awed, despite Sexy Jutsu. She's way better looking than anything he could come up with.

Training continues next chapter, and maybe Renji will make an appearance? Or Toshiro? Maybe Rangiku? Let me know if you have a Soul Reaper in mind to make an appearance in an upcoming chapter. Who knows? Or any other ideas you may have, I'm open to input as long as it's not rude.

Until next time :)


	4. Chapter 4

I'm soooooooooooooo sorry! Really, I have no excuse this time. Sure, I was really busy with school and musical and concerts and travelling and exams up until the end of June, but after that there has been nothing stopping me...I really feel terrible, it's been a whole six months since I last posted!

Good news is, despite that, Friends on the Other Side now has 50 followers and 42 favourites! **cheers internally through the sobbing** Really though, that's amazing. I never thought this story could get that far, especially with only 3 chapters (and a six month wait...). Thank you so much to everyone for the support, it really is what keeps me motivated. Without you guys, I would still be slouched on the couch like the potato I am ;).

Note - I refuse to switch my allegiances from IchiRuki to IchiHime, so this fic won't either. I don't care that it's now canon, I will not accept it. I'm sorry if you like it, but I don't. There still will only be hints of romance, but it will _not_ involve IchigoxOrihime.

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own Bleach or Naruto. However, I have found that my tea collection has actually increased...

Thanks sis for spell checking 3

 **Just Some Friendly Conversation...**

"Hey kid! Pay attention already!"

A sharp blur of orange caught Naruto hard on the temple just as his eyes had flicked forward, sending him reeling backwards into the rock walls of Urahara's underground training facility. He rolled over, groaning as the shadow of his tormenter fell over him. _Strawberry_ , he though with disgust, scowling at Ichigo's exasperated face. _Why does he have to be so freakishly tall?_

"Naruto, you've been all over the place today, what's with you? It's only been a week since you got here and you're spacing already? Come on!" Ichigo just shook his head, disappointed.

"Look, why don't we take a break? You'll be with Yoruichi after lunch, agility training."

Naruto sighed inwardly. Truthfully, he knew he'd been spacing out. He just couldn't help it. His latest object of fascination was the Strawberry's strange collection of friends, who just seemed so at odds with what he'd seen of this group of fighters. Or, to be more specific, his obsession was with one Orihime Inoue, and, to a lesser extent, Chad and Uryu. In the last few days he'd found his eyes wandering more and more towards the back corner where Orihime, Uryu, Chad, and Urahara pretended to watch him train. None of them ever seemed all that interested in him, they always seemed to be preoccupied with something else. Uryu always pouring over piles of papers and large folders, scribbling away for hours*. Chad would just sit, quietly plucking away at his weird _shamisen_ -like thing*. Orihime would prance around, twirling her skirt and humming to herself off in her own strange little world.

As Ichigo strode over to the group with Naruto following behind, the young ninja couldn't help but wonder at the odd assortment. _What's up with those guys? They sure as hell don't seem like fighters. But then again, neither does Hinata I guess, or Ino, or even Shikamaru really until you get close to him...I'll corner the Strawberry later I guess-_

He was suddenly jerked back to the present by a burst of roaring laughter, and blinked at the strange scene unfolding before him. Orihime seemed to have been trying to feed what seemed like some kind of chocolate to the four-eyes, and Chad and Ichigo were turning green just looking at it. Yoruichi and Urahara were both double over laughing, clutching each other's arms, tears streaming down his faces. Uryu was turning more red by the second, trying unsuccessfully to disguise the look of horror in his eyes with a smile- more of a grimace, really. Orihime, oblivious to his predicament, edged the chocolate closer.

"Come on Uryu, I made them myself!" she sang, smiling sweetly.

That seemed to just make things worse.

"HEY WAIT A SEC!" Naruto yelped, dashing towards them. They all stared at him as he skidded to a halt between Orihime and the now suddenly calmer Uryu.

"If the _four-eyes_ doesn't want the chocolate," he announced, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "... _I_ could have it instead!"

Orihime blinked, surprised. Then, she grinned back, holding the chocolate out to the oblivious boy in front of her.

"Oh Naruto, of course you can! I know Uryu agreed to be my new taste tester after Tatsuki decided that she had to really concentrate on boxing-she's the second strongest girl in Japan you know and she _is_ very important and really I had been giving her so many yummy things to try that maybe she was overcome by how tasty they all were-but Uryu has been having so much lately-I've been on a bit of a confectionery kick and I really just couldn't help myself-and it's just so sweet of you to do this for me!" she exclaimed, without even pausing for breath. Naruto just squinted at her.

"Uh whatever lady, I'll just-OW!" he scowled over his shoulder at Uryu, who was looking at him with murder in his eyes.

"Fine," he mutterd, turning back. "Thanks for the chocolate and all that," he said hurriedly, reaching for his treat. He snatched it up, stuffing it in his mouth before Uryu could aim another kick at him.

"I thought I'd try a new combination with this one," Orihime explained cheerfully as Naruto began to chew.

"I filled this one some nice chewy caramel and an American treat called Sauerkraut, I thought it might be too sweet, but I'm really happy with how it turned out!" she finished with a grin.

Uryu's green complexion returned with a vengeance as Naruto's eyes widened and he spewed the contents of his stomach all over the dirt floor. Laughter filled the cave once again as he coughed and sputtered, Orihime fluttering around him and wringing her hands as the disgusted ninja flailed on the floor.

"Truly Naruto," Urahara chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye, "you are a force to be reckoned with."

Ichigo was sitting cross-legged at the round table in Urahara's back room when Naruto finally got out of the shower. It had taken forever to get the smell of bile from his nose, but when he eventually emerged from the steam filled bathroom it was to find that the shop was nearly deserted. He wandered the halls confused, rubbing his head with a towel until eventually, by mere chance, he stumbled upon the room where he'd first been brought upon arriving. He shuffled through the rice paper doors, barely glancing at Ichigo before collapsing at the table and reaching for the plate of sandwiches left in the middle. As he began shoveling one after another into his mouth, he looked curiously at his teacher.

"Where did everyone go?" he asked through a mouthful of food. "I wasn't gone _that_ long, was I?"

Ichigo started, as if only just noticing Naruto was there. He turned and stared at him, before chuckling and shaking his head.

"No, the others left already," he said. "Orihime said she had some stuff for school she had to finish, and Chad had to go practice with his band. Urahara, Yoruichi, and the rest are out front helping a customer. And Uryu said something about a family thing and 'not wanting to help us longer than he has to.'" He snorted at that, rolling his eyes.

"Huh," Naruto said, a bit skeptically. _School stuff? I wonder what kinda school...And a band? Ugh, this place is weird. And what the hell is with that Uryu guy? 'not wanting to help', he sounds just like Sasuke!_

Naruto huffed at that and reached for some more food. As he chewed he watched his brooding master, who seemed to be lost in thought once again.

"Thooo...wath eir eal?" Naruto got out around a mouthful of food. Ichigo rolled his eyes and pounded him on the back, hard.

"Don't talk with your mouth full you idiot!" he shouted as Naruto swallowed, coughing loudly afterwards.

"I said, what's their deal?" he continued, voice a little rough from the coughing.

"If Uryu doesn't want to help, why does he spend so much time here? I thought you said they were your friends. And if they're really here to help with training, why haven't they done anything? Are you sure they can really fight? Sure Chad looks strong enough, but the other two don't look like they could stand up if Hinata poked them on the nose! And I don't-"

"OK OK!" Ichigo interrupted. "Jeez, shut up already."

He sighed loudly, looking up at the ceiling as if to beg whatever god was listening for strength.

"Fine, to answer your questions- Uryu spends so much time here because despite what he says, he actually likes us and just won't admit it. And yes, I said they were my friends and I meant it. They haven't done anything yet because we haven't gotten to that stage in your training yet. That, and you haven't gotten hurt enough for Orihime to be needed. And yes I'm really sure they can really fight, or at least Uryu and Chad can," he answered with a glare. "Is that good enough for you?"

Naruto blinked, a bit surprised. People didn't normally respond to his floods of questions like that. Normally, he got smacked or kicked out of wherever he was. He decided to try again.

"So if they're all that, how did you guys meet? Are you guys like a team or something?" he questioned.

Ichigo started a bit. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. We've been together a long time..." he sighed, lost in the past. He finally glanced at Naruto, only to find him staring at him intently.

"Ok ok," Ichigo chuckled. "Well...I met Chad a long time ago, back when we were just kids. I'd found him under a bridge getting beat up by a bunch of high-schoolers, but he wasn't moving an inch." Naruto raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Really, I'm not kidding you," Ichigo said in answer to his pupil's questioning look.

"He wouldn't budge, no matter what those guys did to him. He's always said it was just something he'd promised his grampa, to never hurt people for his own sake. So, I jumped in to help. We've been fighting for each other ever since."

"Why was he attacked in the first place? Did he do something?" Naruto wondered.

"Nah, he just looked big and strong and ready for a fight, and those idiots decided to take him down a peg. But that's just how Chad is, he's always been big and he's always had somebody ready to start a fight with him just for that reason. He's got the most ridiculous amount of raw strength of anyone I've ever met." _Well, except Kenpachi, but it's probably best not to bring him up._

Naruto nodded. He could understand that, he'd had his own history with bullies. Still, he'd never seen anyone as kind as Chad attacked just because of how strong he looked.

"I knew where he was coming from," Ichigo continued. "I've always had punks after me too, because of my hair." Naruto glanced at that shocking mane of carrot orange, but wasn't able to see the problem. _My hair's bright yellow, and heck, Sakura's hair is pink! What does it matter?_

"Maybe it's different where you're from," Ichigo said in answer to Naruto's puzzled look.

"But here, if your hair isn't black, brown, or anything similar, it makes you look like you're trying to attract attention. Everyone wants me to confess to dying it, even though it really is natural. so when I refuse...well, let's just say I've been getting rid of bullies since I was eight years old."

 _Huh,_ Naruto thought. _Maybe we've got more in common than I thought..._

"And the others?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I met Orihime almost three years ago kind of by accident," he said, remembering with a laugh.

"She literally ran into me in the hall at school, and was so embarrassed she could barely speak. But when I found out she was a good friend of my childhood best friend I started to get to know her more." He sighed at that, looking sad.

"She's had it rough," he continued grimly. "Her parents both died in a car crash when she was just seven, and she was raised by her older brother after that. But, well..." he trailed off. _Damn, how do I phrase this? I can't exactly tell him about ghosts and all that, let alone that her brother was a Hollow!_

"Well," he said, recovering. "her brother disappeared for a bit when we were in middle school, and she was left by herself. Even though she told her relatives what had happened, no one wanted to take care of her. Just after we started high school, her brother came back. But he'd gone...dark." He scowled at that, clenching his fist.

"Anyway, I helped her get away from him. It wasn't long after that whole incident that she began training as a healer-she's the best you'll ever meet." _Hell, she can re-grow lost limbs..._ "She's been a good friend to us, and has never let me down and never walked away no matter what trouble I got her into."

"As for Uryu...well, he's probably the weirdest of all." he said, shaking his head. _Here goes nothing..._

"He came from a long line of very talented archers, with special techniques-I guess you would call them a kind of jutsu-that had been kept secret within the family for centuries. See, unlike the rest of us, he was born into this world of constant battle. He wanted nothing more than to immerse himself in fighting, like the little stubborn little shit he is," he snorted.

"It was his father who didn't want anything to do with it. He became a doctor and wouldn't let Uryu anywhere near his grandfather, who was the only one who wanted to train him. But he would sneak out, into the forest to train with his grandfather."

"One day, everything went wrong," he said with a scowl. "They were attacked while out training. As what was once one of the strongest families, even reduced to so little, they had many enemies and in the skirmish his grandfather was killed right in front of him."

"For years he trained all by himself, just so he could get revenge on the people who killed his grandpa." Ichigo glanced sideways at Naruto.

"And when he found me, he thought he had it."

Naruto started, surprised. "I thought you were gonna say you helped him get it!"

"Well, in a way I kinda did," Ichigo laughed. "Or rather, I showed him that he didn't need revenge in the first place and was just too stupid to see that."

"Y'see, way back in the day, my dad was part of a fighting organization** that directly opposed Uryu's family. Things had been quiet for a long time, both staying out of each other's business, but...well, Uryu's people took things too far, and in response the organization slaughtered them all."

Naruto's jaw dropped.

"My dad never had any part in it," Ichigo continued. "But the Ishida's-the main family-were the only ones to escape the slaughter. They went into hiding, and banned the use of their abilities. It was only because Uryu insisted on practicing that they were discovered and his grandfather killed."

Ichigo sighed.

"This is where it gets complicated." _Damn straight this is where it gets complicated. And I can't even say the half of it!_

"It was right after we had started school that we met. We were in different classes, so it took a while, but when Uryu saw me he knew who I was right away. I had just come into my abilities as part of the organization, and he decided that _I_ should be the object of his revenge."

"He was such an idiot!" he facepalmed. "Not only did he pick a fight with me, but he went and got every baddy in the area to come and fight us, just to 'see what I was made of'! He put the whole town in danger, _and_ he dragged Orihime and Chad into it-which is why they're still here in the first place!" he growled with frustration.

"Meanwhile, it took _me_ to remind him that his grandfather had actually wanted to forgive the So-er, the organization. The idiot was getting revenge for a man who just wanted peace!"

As his teacher ranted, Naruto was cast back into memories of his own world. _He's just like Sasuke...chasing after Itachi, fighting with me...he put the whole village in danger just because he wanted to get his stupid revenge._ He stared at Ichigo, who was still lost in his frustration, and wondered. _He's done so much, and seems so strong-and they say that he's lost it all? All these people, they owe him. They look up to him! That's all I've ever wanted and he just sits around and ignores it? Bastard!_

He jumped to his feet, interrupting Ichigo's rant and glaring at him.

"So you say that everyone-Chad, Orihime, even Uryu, are your friends, that you fought together. They _owe_ you, counted on you! But you just sit around and let everyone say that you're weak? Argh I can't STAND people like you! You're just waiting for someone to come and make it better for you! Do you even care about your friends? If what you just said is true, then you're their _hero_! Did you even _think_ about how they feel, seeing you like this?!" Naruto shouted.

Ichigo gaped at his pupil's sudden outburst, and turned red with fury.

"Who the HELL do you think you are?" he shouted. "I just told you pretty much the whole basis of my existence and you think I don't _care_?!"

With that he seemed to deflate as suddenly as his rage had ignited-like all the life had once again been drained out of him.

"Of _course_ I care, you idiot," he muttered. "You don't think it kills me every day? Every time one of them has to leave class unexpectedly, or can't come over without explanation, it's like a hole is being blown open in my chest."

He crumpled against the table, Naruto frozen in front of him.

"Everyone, even my little sister is avoiding me. They won't talk to me about anything, just leaving me alone in the dark worrying about them facing dangers I can't protect them from. And now they walk around me on tiptoes, just waiting for me to shatter. Yoruichi and Urahara are the only ones who seem to even remember that I can still fight, and even they won't tell me anything."

"For so long, my only purpose in life was to be 'one who protects'," he sighed dejectedly. "And now? What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

Naruto gaped.

"AAAAAARGH ENOUGH!" he growled.

"You go and get your damn powers back, whatever they are! THAT'S what you do!"

Kisuke smiled slyly to himself as he watched the heated argument draw to a close through the hidden slit in the wall he'd designed for just this purpose.

"Sounds like they're getting along well," he heard from over his shoulder.

Yoruichi was watching him keenly, smirking at her old friend and sometimes-lover.

"What are you up to old man?" she questioned. "You know that if you hurt my favorite student I won't forgive you. Again."

"Oh don't you worry," he admonished, winking at her. "Everything is going to plan."

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better."

Urahara grinned. "Say, Yoruichi, what do you think about having a guest or two for a few days? A 'feature teacher' for our young ninja."

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow.

"Who exactly did you have in mind?"

"Oh I was thinking we could start with Renji," he said smoothly. "It might do some good for both of them do go up against someone equally stubborn and pig-headed."

"You've got that right," Yoruichi snorted. "But you must know that if you invite Renji, those guys will almost certainly follow."

"Don't worry," he chuckled. The old ex-Captain drew his bucket hat over his forehead, casting his eyes in shadow.

"I'm counting on it."

**blesses you with a long chapter** Tada! Whew I'm so glad I got that done. Sorry if you were hoping for more action, but the very wise **Gambit197238** reminded me that character development and bonding is also important- lots of that in this chapter.

Next time, we're back to more action and officially straying far out of the canon grounds. Renji is coming for a visit! What will Ichigo do? What will Rukia say? And as for the 'others'...do any anime watchers remember that one episode where Renji and friends come to Karakura High? Next chapter we'll be looking at Part 2. For the manga readers...check out episode 114, as I can't remember if that's a filler episode or not.

Chapter Notes:

*Remember, Naruto has never had to do homework before. at least, not what we think of as homework.

**Naruto relates Chad's guitar to a Shamisen, which is a kind of Japanese stringed instrument that I thought Naruto would likely be more familiar with than a guitar. Here's its Wikipedia description:

Shamisen (三味線) — A banjo-like lute with three strings, the shamisen was brought to Japan from China in the 16th century. Popular in Edo's pleasure districts, the shamisen was often used in Kabuki theater. Made from red sandalwood and ranging from 1.1 to 1.4 meters long, the shamisen has ivory pegs, strings made from twisted silk, and a belly covered in cat or dog skin. The strings, which are of different thickness, are plucked or struck with a tortoise shell pick.

**By this point Ichigo does know that his dad is a soul reaper, although he doesn't know all the details until the Quincy War Arc.


End file.
